Bianca bleaker



(No Model') B. BLENKER.

BUSTLE.

No. 818,586. Patented Maly 26, 1885.

miran @raras rrrcn.

Farrar BUSTLE.

SPTECIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 318,536, dated May 26, 1885.

Application tiled December 26, 1884.

T0 all whom 'it may con/cern.-

Be it known that I, BIANCA. BLENKER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a cer tain new and useful Improved Bustle, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l represents a top plan view of the invention. Fig. 2 represents a vertical crosssection of the invention on the line x x of Fig. l. Fig. 3 represents a vertical longitudinal sect-ion of the inventionon the line x a" of Fig. l..

llIy improved bustle possesses the following advantages: first, they do not lose their shape consequent upon pressure,as the n1etalframed reed and ruffled bustles do; second, they do not wear the dress ofthe user; third, they are more durable; and, fourth, by the employment of the small removable bustle I can in a moment adapt the same bustle to be used with garments differing in style and material, thus enabling` the wearer to give the desired shape to the dress-skirt irrespective of its material and of the manner in which it has been made or trimmed.

In the drawings, A represents a flat baglike structure made of linen or other suitable fabric. It is cut from the material of which it is made preferably in three pieces. The bottom piece, a, is of substantially the outline and size desired for the bustle. The upper part b is preferably composed of two pieces, b and 02, united at about the center of the bustle on the line c, and their aggregate width and length is somewhat greater than the width and length of the under piece, a. This is done so that when the bag is filled with hair or equivalent material, as hereinafter set forth, the under piece a, being smaller in all dimensions than the upper pieces, b bi, combined', the bustle will maintain its rounded oval shape or concavo-convex form, and however much it may be crushed it will speedily regain its proper form.

At the upper end of the bustle a waistband, C, with ends c c, is provided, which ends join in front, or otherwise serve to hold the bustle in place.

(No model.)

The bustle-bag thus formed is filled with any suitable light and elastic material, preferably very tough and elastic hair, and I prefer to tack the bag here and there. as shown at d d, the better to keep the hair or other filling in place.

The bustle described may be made in any desired outline, and of any desired degree of fullness 5 but I prefer to cut the pieces b and bl of this part of the bustle of such size and shape and unite them to each other and to the bottom piece, a, so that the resulting bustle will be what may be termed a low bustle as distinguished from a high one, so that this part of my bustle may be used as a complete bustle with satisfactory results, with a dress which, having considerable drapery or fullness in the back, just below the waist, requires but little projection or bustle effect at the waist, but does require such effect further down on the skirt; and in order that the same bustle may be used advantageously and satisfactorily with a dress which, having but little drapery at the waist, does require fullness at that part to give it the necessary projection, I provide a smaller removable bustle, F, which is in effecta complete, although small, bustle in itself, superimposed upon thelower or main bustle. This small bustle is made in the same manner as the main bustle, with the exception that it has no waist strings or belt; but in place thereof a button-hole band, f, at its upper part, in which are formed button-holes, which engage with the buttons g g, &c., or their equivalent, fastened at or near the band of the main bustle. I also prefer to form one or more button-holes in any suitable manner at or near the lower end of the additional small bustle, as seen at It, by which its lower end may be retained in place upon the main bustle, the button h being, of course, sewed to the main bustle. Thus it will be seen that this additional small bustle may be attached or detached in a moment from the main bustle at the will of the wearer.

If desired, more than one additional bustle may be used, superimposed one upon the other.

I do not limit myself to the precise materials used, nor to the details of construction, since they may be somewhat departed from and still my invention be employed. For in- IOO stance, the upper piece b may be made al1 in one pieee,`instead of the two pieces b and b2 united together; also, hooks or any other equivalent devices may be used instead of the buttous g g and h, and the taeking d d may be omitted; also, the small upper bustle may be permanently sewed to the band7 and thus eonstitute a permanent part of the bustle; but this method fails to possess the peculiar quality of adapting the bustle to dresses of different styles, 8m.

Having described my invention, I claim- The described adjustable bustle, composed of a main bustle formed of an under and upper piece of eloth,the under piece being smaller in all dimensions than the upper piece, said pieces being united at their edges, and a suitable Waistband attached to the upper edges thereof, and a smaller superimposed bustle detaehably attached to the main bustle, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New7 York and State of New York; this 18th day of December, A. D. 1884.

Y BIANCA BLENKER.

Witnesses:

WALTER H. GRITTENDEN, JOHN J. GULDWELL. 

